Abducted by aliens

Summer camp ended last week, and there's a two-week gap until school starts. So what to do with the kid during that gap? You guessed it, call in my mom -- Super Grandma!

Yes, she gets superhero status. She's earned it -- not only is she a babysitter extraordinaire, she's also a bit hyperactive. She simply can't sit still. Which is awesome for me, with my sorely-lacking domestic and organizational skills. Within an hour of arriving, she'd already straightened out the contents of my kitchen cabinets, and was eyeing the plants in the backyard. I knew they'd succumb to her pruning and clipping soon enough.

Mark was also thrilled about Grandma's visit. He loves her visits, at least half the time (the half when she's giving him cookies, taking him on long scooter rides, and letting him watch T.V.). The other half he tolerates, just barely, gritting his teeth and groaning at all the chores she gives him. I love watching it -- she gives him a task, and where he'd sass me for similar orders, he simply bites his tongue and completes it. He knows better than to talk back to Grandma -- as he told me once when he was 5, "Grandma doesn't take any crap!"

The afternoon she arrived, Mark sauntered into the office, complaining he was bored, which meant Grandma was watching what she wanted to on T.V., and not the Disney Channel. I suggested that if he was so bored, he could water the plants in the backyard. He balked at first, until he realized it wasn't really a suggestion. I warned my mom he'd be spraying the hose all over the backyard shortly.

Next thing I know, Mark appeared in the office, asking for an old towel.

"Why do you need a towel?" I asked, confused.

"To dry off the windows," he answered glumly. Apparently Grandma thought "watering the backyard" meant plants only, not windows.

I gave him a towel.

Soon enough, he returned with another request.

"Grandma needs a hammer," he said.

This alarmed me. "Why?" I asked, worried. I hurried outside to investigate.

Turns out Mark watering the backyard turned into Mark watering the windows, which turned into Mark drying, then cleaning the windows under Grandma's supervision. My mom took down some screens and couldn't put them back in; hence, she wanted to hammer them back in.

I ordered them both back inside before they broke my windows or anything else. Mark hadn't learned his lesson, and proclaimed he was still bored. But he took one look at Grandma, ready to assign him another task, and quickly corrected himself.

"I mean, I'm not that bored. I'm not bored at all," he clarified. "I'm gonna go play in my room."

I smiled, pleased with his Grandma's positive influence. And the influence has continued -- today, Mark was up, dressed and fed when I awoke, and his bed was neatly made. He was sweet, happy and charming, not part of his usual morning ritual.

"Who is this kid?" I asked my mom, shocked.

"I don't know," she answered. "I think Mark was abducted by aliens."

I smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad they left such a well-mannered kid in his place."

I'm really gonna enjoy the next couple weeks...